The PlayStation Showcase 2021 was jam-packed with exciting announcements fromGod of War: RagnoroktoStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake. However, one studio stood out from the rest of the crowd, as it usedPlayStation Showcase 2021to reveal two Marvel titles that will be launching in the coming years.Insomniac Gamesis quickly becoming one of Sony’s premier first-party studios and, after yesterday’s showcase, has proven that it’s going to continue being the backbone of the PS5. With the surprise announcements ofMarvel’s WolverineandMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, it looks like the studio has no intention of stopping its constant output of quality titles anytime soon.
Although there are plenty of excellent studios that fall under the PlayStation Studios umbrella, the current number of games coming out of Insomniac is sending a clear message to PlayStation fans: Insomniac is here to stay and is going to be the powerhouse studio owned by Sony. With its long history of excellent titles dating back toSpyro the Dragonon the original PlayStation, it’s no wonder why Sony has put so much faith in the developer to take up such a large portion of its showcase withMarvel’s WolverineandSpider-Man 2. While they’re both still a while away, it’s clear that Insomniac won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
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Insomniac’s Xbox One/PS4 Hotstreak
Before discussing why Insomniac is leading the way for the PS5, it’s important to take a look at where the studio has been in recent years. Although Insomniac has been making games for PlayStation consoles since the company started,it wasn’t bought by Sony until 2019, a full year after the release ofMarvel’s Spider-Man. After the game launched, it was clear that Insomniac was a major studio to watch.
The studio started its hot streak during the Xbox One/PS4 console generationwithSunset Overdrive, an Xbox One exclusive that seemed to be a template of sorts forMarvel’s Spider-Man. The game took place in a large urban open-world and the player had a lot of mobility options similar to Spider-Man’s web-slinging. It was a solid title that set Insomniac up for success during the generation, but the studio turned back to releasing PlayStation exclusives with its next release,Ratchet and Clank.
From there on out, it seemed clear that Insomniac was potentially heading towards a PlayStation acquisition after bothRatchet and ClankandMarvel’s Spider-Manhelped define the PS4 generation. Both titles were revered as not only solid games, but some of the best on the PS4, so when the studio was acquired, fans couldn’t wait to see what was going to come next for Insomniac. Although they had to wait until the PS5 came out, it seems like the studio is making the wait worth it, as the quality of their titles is so high and the releases are so frequent.
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Insomniac is Leading the PS5 Generation
Despite not even being a year into the PlayStation 5’s life cycle, Insomniac has already put out two major titles that are must-plays for the system.Spider-Man: Miles Moraleslaunched alongside the consoleand was a system seller all on its own, despite being a shorter experience than other launch titles likeDemon’s SoulsorGodfall. The fact that the deluxe version of the game also came with the remastered PS5 version ofSpider-Manalso helped remind fans just how great the studio is and how, following its acquisition, it is inherently tied to the PlayStation brand.
Just a few months later in summer 2021,Insomniac releasedRatchet and Clank: Rift Apart, which had been teased during multiple PlayStation events. It made meaningful use out of a lot of the new hardware features that had come to the PS5, and many lauded the title as “the game you bought a PS5 for” because of how high the quality was. It showed off the hardware in a way that made it clear that it could only be possible on the PlayStation 5. Like games such asReturnalandAstro’s Playroom,Ratchet and Clank: Rift Aparthas become synonymous with the PS5 and further cemented Insomniac Games' hot-streak with Sony.
Now that Insomniac has announced two more projects that are both coming exclusively to the PS5, the studio will have the most titles on the platform out of all the other first-party Sony studios. Although no one can speak to their quality just yet, ifSpider-Man 2andMarvel’s Wolverineareon par with Insomniac’s other gamesin terms of quality, then they’re sure to be major hits. With video game blockbuster after blockbuster on the PS5, there doesn’t seem to be much that other studios can do to catch up with just how hot Insomniac has become. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, as the studio has made it evident that it can handle the pressure and output some of the best titles on the platform.
The Exciting Future of Insomniac Games
It’s still really early to be thinking about what should come next onceSpider-Man 2andMarvel’s Wolverinelaunch, asSpider-Man 2has a 2023 release dateand nothing is known aboutWolverine, so it’s likely pretty far off too. That said, it doesn’t seem like Insomniac would be throwing in the towel once both titles release, as if they’re both well-received, the studio is still going to be on the hot streak that was started withSunset Overdrive.
There’s still so much to see from the developer, and it’ll likely only get better from there. There’s no telling where Insomniac is headed next after it wraps up both projects, but fans who have been following it over the years understand what sort of quality they can expect from the company’s titles. AsInsomniaccontinues leading the way for the PS5, it seems like it’s going to set the bar even higher for the studios around it.
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